


Sleepless in Trigleph

by Lord_of_Spirits_and_Bazongas



Category: Tales of Xillia
Genre: F/M, Sad, jude mathis x milla maxwell, jumilla
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-03
Updated: 2015-03-03
Packaged: 2018-03-16 05:11:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3475712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lord_of_Spirits_and_Bazongas/pseuds/Lord_of_Spirits_and_Bazongas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taking place one year after the events of Xillia 2, Jude is unable to sleep properly, but as he tries to entertain himself, he’s stumbling into more than he can handle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleepless in Trigleph

Jude had already reached the point where he was counting how many hours of sleep he would get if he were to fall asleep right now. His room was dark, but the time spent awake had adjusted his eyes so that he could see things somewhat clearly. With heavy sigh, Jude turned from facing a wall into staring at his bedside table. He didn’t have all that much on it, most of his books were chaotically scattered around the apartment, some of them were in the bathroom and some around his bed, not even his dining table was safe from all of his books and research papers, the place was practically decorated with them. Jude easily spotted just how much the clock was, the dim lights from alarm clock told him that it was 4:05, he should have been to sleep long time ago, but something kept him awake. He knew what it was, even if he tried to ignore such feelings, she was always there, in the back of her mind, consciously or unconsciously. 

Jude stared at the clock for a while longer, seeing the number five turn into six and then onto seven before he reached out for a framed picture that was next to it. The glassy frame was a bit dusty, but the memories of everyone were anything but.

“Hard to believe it’s been already been over an year since we all were together…” There they all were, smiling, some more than others but if one thing was certain it was that everyone was happy. Seeing even Gaius smile got a light chuckle out of Jude. Muzet was happy as ever, floating on top of Gaius with Rowen by his side, tall and proud as ever. Next to him there was Elize and of course Teepo as well, the two were hard, downright impossible to separate from one another. Jude’s wandering eyes slowly rotated, paying attention to everyone there was until he stopped when he spotted himself and the slightly taller figure by his side, Milla.  
“…all together…” Jude said to himself as he swiped that particular part of the picture clean with his thumb. There they were, him and Milla, standing proudly and happily. With a somewhat heavy grunt, he adjusted his position and leaned in closer to get a better view of the picture.

“…Milla…” Jude said to himself as he kept on looking at the two. The more he kept on looking at it, the more he felt his own heartbeat rising up, as if she was truly there with him. Jude wished that someday, when the research and dream for a world in which spirits and humans can truly coexist, they would meet again. He had plenty of reasons to work hard, but he would be lying if he were to tell that love and longing to see her again wasn’t the main driving factor. It was odd feeling, but seeing her was at same time both relieving and painful reminder, much like double edged sword. Seeing her at first made him feel good, but the more he looked at her, the more he longed for her presence. The way her hair smelled, the way she appreciated life and even the smallest things that humans often missed, she never did. Her determined, yet soft voice, her fierce yet loving eyes, he missed her, he missed her so, so very much.

“I…I can’t…I need to get some rest now…” Jude sighed as he put the picture back onto his bedside table, turning it around as he knew that if he wanted to sleep, he couldn't look at that picture any longer, he simply couldn't. He lowered himself under his sheets and closed his eyes, knowing that it probably wouldn't help him and unfortunately he was right. No matter how much he tried to count the apple gels nothing seemed to help. Slowly, he opened up his eyes and looked at the bedside table once more. It was one spot in the entire apartment that was by some miracle free from all of his books, paperwork's and alike, which was a bit ironic, given how one would expect them to be there. He couldn't see the picture anymore, but he needed something to do, anything other than alone time with her inner thoughts. Jude reached out for his GHS, the bright light hurt to look at but soon he got adjusted to the bright light that came from it.

“Hmm…” Jude pondered out loud as he looked at the various apps he had installed. He had tried out the flappy harpy game but it wasn't for him, although it was crazy popular for some odd reason. Perhaps talking with someone might help, Leia certainly loved texting, so much that Alvin had thought about blocking her number even, which Jude knew was an idle threat, but enough to calm her down a bit, at least now she formed proper, full sentences before she sent her texts instead of filling them practically with emoticons alone.  
“Perhaps…I should…there are bound to be pictures that don’t have Milla in them…” Jude thought to himself. With a few tap of his finger, he was looking at the galleries of pictures he had taken over the past two years or so, perks of being a researcher were that he was amongst first to get his hands on new technology. The first pictures he had taken were mostly just from his apartment, he had sent those photos to everyone, that way they all could see where he was living and what it looked like, even if they weren't physically there with him.

“It sure was a lot cleaner back then…” Jude let out a somewhat amused laugh as he continued to scroll past the pictures. He had taken some photos of himself, one before he got his haircut and one afterwards. He had to admit it, he liked his new style a lot, although it wasn't that drastic of a change, but still. The photos that came up next were nothing special, just him and various nature photos for the most part, photos of various trains, followed up by some photos of Leia and Alvin who had came to look how he was holding up. He still wasn't sure what the deal with them was, but there was certainly more than just playful pickering and teasing between them, he could tell that much for sure. Jude had a pretty good memory all things considered, even if all of his paperwork was scattered around in seemingly chaotic mess, to him it was more like an organized chaos. One thing that did caught him by surprise though, was the fact that his phone gallery had an album he knew wasn’t there the last time he had checked it. It was hard to tell from the small thumbnail what the pictures were, but curiosity got the best of him and he opened it up.

What followed up was Jude panting quite heavily, as if he had just finished up a marathon. It was Milla…but how…when? There were so many pictures of her, over a hundred easily. The first twenty pictures of so were much like a child trying to figure out how the device worked, but unlike Gaius, Milla had clearly figured it out sooner than him. There she was, Lord of the Spirits, taking pictures of herself and things around her. Next up came pictures of Jude himself sleeping. Milla had clearly observed him, which was perfectly normal, given how fascinating beings humans were to her. The “problem” with such close up shots were that with the new, advanced technology, they were everything but blurry. Jude could see the individual strings of Milla’s bright yellow hair. Without even realizing it, he tapped the screen, as if hoping that it would swirl Milla’s hair around his finger. The illusion was so real it hurt his very being. Seeing her smile was like a torture. Without even realizing it, the screen was suddenly wet. He was crying. Perhaps it was the fact that he was so emotionally stressed or that seeing her again was so painful, but no matter what caused him to feel this way, he was still unable to hold back his tears. One by one, they dripped down, coating the screen. There were still so many pictures he hadn't seen, but he had seen more than enough, he couldn't bare to look at them no longer. Now if ever it was hard, downright impossible to get anymore sleep. Although his tears had dried up almost as quickly as they had came, he was still feeling restless, now more than before. Jude was more than willing to accept the fact that he wouldn't be getting any sleep, that was just a cold fact, but he was now restless in more than one way. He needed to talk with someone, anyone about this. With a few swipes, he was now looking at his list of contacts.

“Alvin…no I can’t bother him, he needs his sleep…Elize…no I can’t contact her…Leia…well she had always bothered me so I guess she wouldn't mind all that much…” Jude mumbled to himself as he began to type a text message.

Jude Mathis:

‘Leia, I know this is a bad time to be contacting you but I kinda need someone to talk to and I thought that given how many times you've texted me in the middle of the night I could also…well…just text me back okay?’

Jude waited for a moment, he wanted to erase the message but before his doubts would get the best of him he pressed the send button.  
“That was stupid, I shouldn't be bothering her with this—” Jude’s monologue was interrupted as his phone began to vibrate. He didn't receive a text message, but instead a call. It was Leia. Jude answered the call and put the phone onto his ear before he leaned up against the nearby wall.

“Leia, I thought we would just text, why did you call me?” Jude said with a hint of annoyance in his normally calm voice while he rubbed his forehead.

“Hey I know you well enough Jude, this way you can’t escape from me because you would never hang up on me” Leia said in response. She did sound a bit sleepy, but at the same time, she was often energized enough, no matter the situation, especially if her friends needed her, Jude in particular was a very close friend of hers, someone she always had time for.

“But what’s the problem Jude? Are you thinking about—”

“Yeah…don’t…say her name ok? I can’t really…”

“Boy Jude you sound crushed, did something happen?”

“Yeah, I kinda found out bunch of pictures she had taken with my phone and something just came to me, as if getting enough sleep wasn’t hard enough then this…”

“Jude…” Leia simply responded back to him. There was an awkwardly long silence between them until Leia decided to break it.  
“…you can’t give up now okay? I know it must be hard for you, I can only imagine the pain you’re going through but you know that you work is precious, you can’t let your pain get the best of you, you've made so much progress and I just know it that you’re not that far from reaching your goals, the world you and…” Leia paused for a moment before she continued.  
“…Milla want to create, that everyone wishes for, it’s not just a dream Jude, but a reality. It might take you some time, months, years even but it’s going to be worth it Jude, I know it will” Jude couldn't help himself not to smirk upon hearing Leia’s speech. It too, reminded him of Milla. Before their journey, Leia had had her doubts, but now even she sounded a bit like Milla, the woman whose very name was synonym to inspiration and dedication to a cause. The way Milla protected everyone, humans and spirits, the way her mission was always in her sight…he needed that same determination in order to help create the world they all longed for, one where humans and spirits could truly come together.

“…Thanks Leia…I really needed that…it gets a bit lonely in here and sometimes weeks go by without any sign of progress…I know what Milla would say about that…one needs to always push on, it’s a matter of doing and pushing onwards even when it seems impossible…”

It was Leia’s turn to sigh, but that was followed by a rather tired, yet hearty chuckle.  
“Oh Jude, now you even sound like her…but what you said is true. You should look at pictures of her more like an inspiration, something that will help you stay on right path and motivated instead of something that you've lost. Jude, she’s still alive and out there, Milla is not dead and I’m sure she’s waiting to be with you too, but if she were to see you in such sad shape she would beat you up for letting yourself down, so for her sake Jude…don’t give up, turn that frown into a smile and cherish the memories of her that you have…and remember, when she will return, you two will create so many more”

“…Thanks again Leia…I do feel alot better now…thank you, I should probably let you get some much needed sleep now, I know how busy you are and all that”

“True, but I always have time for my friends, good night Jude, let’s grab some lunch soon okay?”

“…Yeah, sure, sleep tight” Jude said in response before he closed the call. As he put the phone back onto his bedside table, he reached out for the photo. As he turned it around, he saw the whole gang once more, but his eyes moved back onto him and Milla. Now it wasn't painful sight, but rather pleasant reminder of the past.

“Milla…I know we will see each other soon…I promise you that…” Jude said to himself as he put the picture back onto his table, this time faced to him so that he could properly see it. As he put his head against a pillow, he could feel sudden ease breezing over him, calming him down. As his eyes closed, the last sight he saw was Milla Maxwell smiling at him, assuring him that eventually everything would turn out okay.

**Author's Note:**

> You can also find me at tumblr http://lordofspiritsandbazongas.tumblr.com/ If you have ideas, suggestions, feedback, comment, anything like that, feel free to contact me.


End file.
